Date Published: 06/14/11

Abia: The "PPA Name", A burden for the Candidates? by Alaribe Ugochukwu

    As the Abia state Chapter of the Progressive People Alliance (PPA) recorded a dismal performance in the contest for positions at the just concluded general Elections, Alaribe Ugochukwu detailed the factors that worked against the party in the state.

          Political analysts are still pondering over the woeful outing of the PPA in the last General Elections in Abia State. Before the polls, expectations were high that the party would give the ruling people’s Democratic Party PDP, a run for its money due to the allegations of non performance leveled at the state Governor, Chief T.A Orji. The division in the state chapter of the PDP created by Chief Ikechi Emenike who continued to lay claim to the Abia PDP gubernatorial ticket, also made pundits to predict that, an implosion loomed in the PDP before the elections. It was expected that the PDP stands to benefit from the impending issues over the PDP governorship ticket. But this could not happen as predicted.

          The problem of the PPA seems to have risen just after its primaries held to select the standard bearer for the governorship race. On the frontline for the ticket were Comrade Chris Akomas, ex-deputy governor of state and Stanley Ohajuruka, a former speaker of the Abia State house of assembly. Investigations revealed that, Ohajuruka was prevailed upon by stakeholders in the party to step down for Akomas but he insisted on going to the polls. Immediately after the results were announced in favor of his opponent, Akomas, he defected to the Labour party with his teeming supporters.

           A source knowledgeable in affairs of the PPA, disclosed that the party hierarchy thought that with the cries of marginalization by the Ukwa/ Ngwa  bloc of the State, a candidate of the party from the area like Akomas will be supported by his kinsmen who boast of nine out of the 17 council areas of the state. Again, this political calculation failed to fly in the face of the image of the PPA as a party of “mamacracy” - a coinage depicting the control of the machinery of government by ex-governor Orji Uzor Kalu’s mother, Eunice, during kalu’s 8 years and 3 years of his  successor, Theordore Orji. This was effectively employed as a campaign tool by PDP. It  was no news that in the run up to the elections, many  residents of the state prayed not to have Abia fall again in the hands of Eunice, popularly known as “Odiuko” and his son,Orji Uzor Kalu.

             In similar development, a major  ally to the Kalu family, Dr Iboko Imo Iboko left the PPA  immediately after losing the party’s  senatorial ticket to Kalu in controversial circumstances.        

   Political analysts attributed the dwindling fortunes of the PPA to the ex-governor and his mother. It is widely reported that Kalu who is also the Board of Trustees (BoT) chairman of the party, did not appear at any campaign rally with the party’s governorship candidate ,Akomas through out the period he toured parts of the state for votes.

               Reliable resources hint that Akomas declined to undergo the “Okija treatment” which would have served as an oath of allegiance to Kalu and his  “mother Excellency”. They added that this accounted for Kalu’s lukewarm attitude to Akomas’ ambition as he (Kalu) could not stand the risk of being “dumped and betrayed again” after the experiences he had with ex- gov. Ikedi Ohakim of Imo state and Abia governor, Theodore Orji. It would be recalled that the two state chief executives dumped the PPA, the platform on which they rode to power through Kalu’s efforts during the 2007  governorship elections.

       As a result  of this, Akomas’ ambition was already doomed to fail despite his laudable campaign promises which identified security, technology and industry, education, health, culture and tourism and agriculture as priorities. An aide to Akomas who preferred anonymity confided to newsmen, that until the day preceding the elections, Akomas was still expecting the mobilization funds which his godfather Kalu promised to disburse to him for the polls.

         Indeed, Abians demonstrated before the elections that they didn’t like the PPA platform. On the Saturday preceding the Tuesday governorship and state Assembly elections In the  state, Akomas was on air at Pacesetter FM radio station, umuahia, in a programme called matters arising, when one of the callers from his home council obingwa ,called to register his disapproval of the PPA platform. According to the caller, Akomas as a person was good but the platform with which he stood for the polls was faulty. The caller further called Akomas to support his brother, Paul Ikonne of the Action congress of Nigeria[CAN]. Akomas’ platform was the greatest campaign tool used by the governor’s camp.

The non acceptability of PPA worked against Akomas  in numerous dimensions.In a political debate organized by Modern Communication Limited (MCL) at Binez hotels, Aba, the gubernatorial candidate of the community party of Nigeria (CPN),Rev Onyeaghala Obioma, described the PPA as a makeshift party. Though Rev Obioma later tendered an apology  to Akomas who confronted him with the issue, Akomas personality and promises could not sway the Abia electorate .

In all the 17 councils of the state, the odds were stacked against the PPA and her candidates. In Ohafia local council where the PPA running mate Mrs. Ori Obasi hails from, major stakeholders like chief Ojo Maduekwe, Ukpai Agwu Ukpai, Ude Oko Chukwu, Arua Arunsi, Tony Okoro, Senator Onyeaka Okoroafor, Kalu Iguma and their supporters were in the governor’s camp. Obasi, a time commissioner in the state was simply overwhelmed as the men of the ruling PDP took the centre stage and directed proceedings.

In Obingwa, it was also a tough battle for Akomas as he contended with  PDP chieftains in the area such as Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, Hon. Eziuche Ubani, Iheanacho Orji, Godwin Nna, and ex-deputy governor, Acho Nwakanma. Sources said Akomas received a paltry N25m from Kalu as mobilization fund for the governorship and state Assembly polls. It was no surprise that party couldn’t clinch a seat, even in Obingwa where its governorship candidate, Akomas hails from.

According to its candidate for Obingwa East state constituency, Hon. Solomon Akpulonu a former member of the Abia Assembly, “PPA candidates lacked party support in the elections. Most of us fought alone. Even the votes I got is traceable to my friends and supporters in my former party, PDP, who had sympathies for my cause, the PPA in Abia was depleted with no structures to win the elections”. He declared. The above statements may have led Akpulonu, who resigned as Senior Special Assistant[SSA] to the deputy governor to contest the elections, to trace his roots back to his former party, the PDP, two weeks after the polls.

Analyzing Akpulonu’s statements, one could easily deduce the reason for the dismal outings of the PPA in the polls. For instance, Chief Kelechi Nwankpa, the immediate past executive chairman of Obingwa council, who hails from the same ward 10 as the PPA Assembly candidate, Akpulonu, was no where to be seen on the day of the elections. He was not even present to cast his votes for the party’s candidates throughout the elections. Mr America Nwachukwu, a youth leader of the party, posit that Akpulonu’s reputation as a dogged fighter could have given him victory had he gotten the support of chief Nwankpa and other stakeholders who reportedly detected to the PDP few days to April 26 polls, as their party, PPA failed to garner any position in the national Assembly polls held on April 9.

The spate of defections to the PDP is seen as a direct effect of Kalu’s inability to actualize his senatorial ambition for Abia North. His failure really affected the morale of his party supporters across the state who thought that he could re-enact the magic wand used in installing uche chukwuemerije, Theodore Orji, Ikedi Ohakim and others into positions of power in the past.

 The elections have been concluded even as other remaining chieftains are reportedly making negotiations to defect to the PDP to add to the number of quality political characters who have since joined the PDP across the state. In fact, the former ruling party in Abia and Imo states is now a shadow of its old self. The people of Abia state, as demonstrated by their votes, took a decision to pitch their destiny in the PDP. No known group or persons of political clout in the state endorsed Akomas, compared to the universal support enjoyed by Gov. Orji. The PPA could be likened to an incubator  which instead of aiding the survival of a chick, killed it. The name of the party became an albatross to her candidates in the elections .

 Can the PPA rise from the ashes of defeat in the 2011 electoral contest to perform the role of a viable opposition party in Abia state?,

The answer lies with Kalu and his mother, Eunice, “the Mother Excellency” as the state await the 2015 general elections.